Tattooed Heart
by Bijuewled
Summary: Their transformation had not been anything short of miraculous, or as others would have described it, expected. How could she have known that in a few short years she'd be wrapped in gold and wrapped in the arms of the boy she truly loved with all her heart? AU Nalu


_**A/N:** Hello lovelies! Happy Nalu week! Who doesn't love cliche prom slow dances? Enjoy! xx_

o-o-o

" _It doesn't have to be forever… just as long as I'm the name of your tattooed heart."_

o-o-o

The night sky stretched all across magnolia, draped with a blanket of salt and pepper stars that glistened with an incandescent light that could not be copied by the sparking fairy lights hung indoors, keeping the attendees in closed quarters.

If he listened hard enough, he could hear the cheers and shouts of his classmates from inside the venue, cheering to their perfectly posh tuxedos and sparkling dresses as they drank mock-tails the entire night, an ode-to-prom cheer suffocating the air inside.

Not that he was entirely focused on the events happening on the inside, or on the stars for that matter.

His preferred mindset was on Lucy, and Lucy alone.

She was a vision in gold, her dress accentuating every curve of her perfect body, emphasizing her stunning hips in all the right ways. The dress hugged her body up until her knees, then released its hold, flowing out like a mermaid's tail. Her hair hung freely down her back, pieces of topaz gems clipped into her curls neatly, making her shine even more than she already did. He watched her as she took in the spectacle of the stars, picking apart each and every speck of glitter with her chocolate eyes.

Mavis, she was so beautiful.

o-o-o-o-o-o

" _You look like a lost puppy."_

 _She turned to him with a surprised face, her brown eyes wide, blonde hair swishing off of her shoulder and falling behind atop of her back._

 _He'd heard that they had a new student in their grade, after all, news tended to travel extremely fast in the halls when the information was placed with the right people. Though, he'd heard different versions._

 _He knew that she was from a rich family, and judging from the brand-name purse she carried in the crook of her arm, the rumors had been correct. Though, the rumor that she was a giant snob had yet to be put to rest. She looked him up and down with those eyes..those brown eyes that strangely reminded him of chocolate._

 _Finally, she sighed, laughing lightly. "Is it that obvious?"_

 _He immediately found himself grinning down at her. "Well, at least you don't have any fur or a tail…or do you?"_

 _The girl narrowed her eyes at him, but laughed nonetheless. "Last time I checked, no."_

" _That's good!" he said cheerfully. "So, do you have a schedule?"_

 _Blinking, she nodded. "Oh! Um..here." she said awkwardly, holding out a folded piece of paper._

" _Must be rough, coming here right in the middle of freshman year." he said, taking the paper from her._

 _She sighed. "You have no idea."_

 _As he scanned her schedule, his eyes widened._

" _Wh-What's wrong?" she asked him, worry shrouding her voice._

" _You're in honors english?!" he exclaimed, looking up from the piece of paper to meet a pair of surprised eyes. "You must be a genius or something!"_

 _The blonde with the chocolate eyes blinked once, then her face completely relaxed, a small smile spreading across her lips, a faint blush spreading on her cheeks._

" _Not a genius…just good at writing I guess.." she said._

" _Is it too early to ask you to write my essay for me?" he asked hopefully, to which she responded by giggling softly._

" _Maybe..don't try your luck just yet."_

 _He scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, well…it was worth a shot..oh hey! We both have first period together! Here, I'll show ya the way!"_

 _His hand moved automatically for her wrist, and he felt a strange warmth spread up his arm, something that was so foreign to him..and yet it seemed completely right._

 _And she let him drag her along._

 _He turned to face her, a bright smile plastered on his face._

" _By the way, I'm Natsu."_

 _She smiled back._

" _I'm Lucy."_

o-o-o-o-o-o

If Lucy had said that she didn't know what to expect for that night, then she'd be right on the money.

Sure, she'd dressed up for her father's fancy company balls and charmed his guests with her alluring beauty and manners, she even knew that each piece of silver wear was supposed to be used when eating a meal.

But prom was a different story.

No longer would she be expected to hold her chin high as if she were balancing an egg on the crown of her head, or speak in a formal manner using vocabulary that she hardly ever exercised.

She could scream and shout along with the blaring music and flashing lights like everyone else, losing herself along with the beat. She could kick off her high-heels if she so desired. She could laugh loudly at stupid jokes and eat food that wasn't bland and low-fat, savoring the greasy and salty taste of french fries.

She could let go, should could be free..and it felt so good.

And it was all thanks to Natsu.

o-o-o-o-o-o

" _Hey, Luigi!"_

" _Are you ever going to call me by my real name?"_

o-o-o-o-o-o

He was..so undeniably handsome in a tuxedo. Out of character yes, but it suited him..no pun intended.

She was glad that he kept his hair how he always wore it, that way it was more..malleable.

She moved closer to him on the patio outside of the venue, their arms brushing together ever so slightly.

Lucy turned to look at Natsu, his green eyes shimmering under the canopy of stars. When he tore his gaze away from the sky and met hers, she didn't shy away.

o-o-o-o-o-o

 _When Lucy opened her eyes, she was disoriented._

 _Not because of where she was, oh, she knew exactly where she was. Her tired eyes opened slowly, the outlines of emptied chinese food take-out boxes registering into her field of vision, scattered all around the table in front of her._

 _From the strange grumbling sounds coming from her stomach, her worst fears were confirmed. Had she really eaten all of that?_

 _She felt something move underneath her body, or rather, someone. And that someone was very warm, warm enough to keep her in a dead sleep for all that time._

 _Now she remembered everything._

 _She glanced down at his sleeping form. He was on his stomach, his head turned to the left, and he looked absolutely knocked out._

 _They must have fallen asleep after they'd consumed their weight in food, considering that the end credits to a movie they'd been watching were scrolling slowly on the television. When she realized that her hands were pressed onto his shoulder blades and their legs were tangled together, a faint blush crept up onto her cheeks._

 _Their friends had always asked them how they could get away with doing couple stuff and have the audacity to tell them that they weren't dating. Lately, and much to her chagrin, she couldn't help but wonder the same thing.._

 _Did he?_

 _Glancing at the digital clock on the table next to her head, she sighed internally. "Natsu." she said, her voice drenched with sleep, shaking his shoulder. "Wake-up. It's one in the morning."_

 _She heard a soft grunt. "So?"_

" _So," she continued, yawning "We have school tomorrow. It's the first day of senior year."_

 _His lack of an answer showed his enthusiasm._

 _Sighing, she slowly pushed down on his back, giving her just the right amount of leverage needed to lift herself off of him._

" _I should-" she began, but squeaked when she was yanked back down onto the couch, Natsu's arm wrapped around her waist, bringing her close to his chest._

" _Natsu, what are you-"_

" _Stay with me, Luce."_

 _She froze at hearing his words, feeling his grip on her tighten immensely. She felt her heart begin to pick up an excited beat, a strange warmth invading her body._

 _It came as no surprise that they picked up right where they had left off, or rather, where they should have been all this time._

" _Okay." she whispered, allowing herself to fall back into the hands of sleep._

 _Into the arms of him._

o-o-o-o-o-o

Natsu and Lucy's heads both turned when the upbeat music indoors suddenly shifted into a soothing and slow melody that gave Lucy chills, her eyes widening as she recognized the song immediately.

"Do you want to go back inside?"

Lucy's eyes met Natsu's, a stilled fire becoming ravaged all too quickly, enough to set off fireworks.

When she shook her head no, her eyes widened as Natsu slowly grinned at her.

"Good."

In just a flash, Lucy was laughing with bliss as Natsu grabbed her hips and lifted her off of the ground, bringing their chests together and spinning her in a circle. As he did so, Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck and threw her head back, her hair billowing out like sparkling yellow smoke.

She held onto him when he set her down on the ground, burying her face into his warm neck and inhaling his intoxicating scent of firewood. She felt him rest his chin on the top of her head softly, rocking with her along to the beat of the slow song that drenched the air with stilled and softened euphoria.

This was all she ever needed.

The enchantment of the starlit sky, a softened melody, and him.

o-o-o-o-o-o

" _Truth or dare?"_

" _Dare."_

" _I dare you...to...kiss me…"_

 _She was all too happy to oblige._

o-o-o-o-o-o

"Do you ever think about it at all?"

"Hmm?" he softly hummed back.

Lucy's half-lidded eyes gazed into nothing, hypnotized by the music and Natsu's warmth, making her cling to him tighter.

Those past four years had gone by in a blur, smacking Lucy in the face with the whiplash of time.

It had all gone by so fast.

She remembered the day that they met all too clearly, and she was sure that he hadn't forgotten either, regardless of his typical forgetfullness. Natsu could be an idiot, but he wasn't stupid.

He was..in a word…refreshing, a cool breeze of air that she needed on that day; a lost freshman with no friends and no sense of direction what-so-ever. She remembered feeling warmed chills-if those were even a thing-take over her body when he grinned at her for the first time, his voice a fiery red velvet.

Their transformation had not been anything short of miraculous, or as others would have described it, expected.

Lucy got excited chills whenever she thought about it; the chemistry that she'd been too blind to see was there from the moment he'd grabbed her wrist in that crowded hallway.

It was there, just like the moon and stars, it had always been there.

And finally, from grabbing wrists to holding each other close with their lips inches away, their transformation had been complete.

She laughed quietly, throwing her head back to smile up at him softly. "Never mind, it's nothing."

Natsu blinked before he returned her smile, leaning his head down to capture her lips with his, sending Lucy fluttering into a state of bliss and fire, allowing the emotions to eat her alive because frankly, she couldn't care less if anyone saw them.

"You're such a weirdo." Natsu whispered, lightly bumping her forehead with his.

And she took his words to heart, regardless of his countless teasing using that four worded phrase that would have usually irked her to her very core, and it had suddenly become weightless.

Because in that moment, wrapped in gold and wrapped in the arms of the boy she loved, nothing else mattered.

He was her freedom, and she wouldn't change that for the world.


End file.
